Ashley Conway

Professor Thomas Wright

ENC 3331
23 March 2015
Rhetorical Analysis: The Prescription Pain Pill Epidemic
Over the last decade the United States has seen a sharp increase in the amount of the
population addicted to prescription pain medication. Because of this, there has also been an
increase in the amount of overdoses and deaths occurring due to this medication. Many believe
that this problem has reached epidemic levels and that it needs to be treated as such. This
analysis will focus on describing how and why prescription pain medication abuse has reached
epidemic levels. As well as examining why our nation has failed in communicating the extent of
the problem with the public.
To understand how this problem developed , it is important too analyze the qualities in
the medications that make them addictive. Pain medication comes in several forms, for example
oxycodone, hydromorphone, and hydrocodone. All of these medications are synthetic
modifications or imitations of opium (CDC). Opium, which comes from the poppy plant,
contains the active ingredients morphine and codeine, which are natural pain relievers and heavy
sedatives. Both morphine and codeine are highly addictive. Heroin contains mostly opium. Many
consider pain medication like oxycodone as the unofficial legal heroin, as it is just as addictive
and users can also overdose. They are also known as pharmaceutical grade heroin pills.
Research shows that Four out of five people who use heroin started with prescription pain
medications (Berman). Prescription pain drugs mimic the effects of heroin, that are euphoria,

safe and warm feelings, and pain relief. These medications are most commonly prescribed for
severe pain. However, after the pain has subsided many find themselves addicted to the effects of
the medication. For example, a patient goes to an emergency room for a broken arm and are then
prescribed a pain killer. Most patients rarely question the medication they are being prescribed
because they are trusting that they doctor is giving them something to benefit them. While this is
true for the pain they are experiencing, once the pain stops they can become addicted to the
medication because their bodies have developed a physical dependency on the drugs. They then
find themselves entering a rehabilitation program for opiate addiction from what started with a
minor or major injury, never imagining that it could lead to them becoming a drug addict.
Statistics from the CDC reveal that 46 people die a day from prescription pill overdose,
15,000 a year. With such large numbers, the effects of this epidemic are hard to go unnoticed.
Especially since this problem has no face. Abusers are found in a variety of communities ,
ranging from poverty stricken areas to rich suburbs. Because these drugs are technically legal,
more people are willing to try them, widening the bounds of addiction for pain medication. Many
people think, it must be safe if it is prescribed to me without thinking of the consequences that
could potentially develop. Another damaging consequence of abusing pain medication is the
correlation between that and heroin. In the last five years, many pain medication users have
turned to heroin (NIDA). Once a pain medication runs out or becomes too expensive (the
average cost per pill uninsured is $60 (Gupta) ), heroin is the cheaper and easier to obtain
alternative. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that 1 in 15 people who take non
medical prescription pain killers will try heroin within 10 years and are three times more likely to
become dependent on the drug.

In 1999 there were 4,000 deaths caused by prescription pain medication and in 2008 it
had reached 15,000 (CDC). A question to be asked is why has there been such a dramatic shift
within the last fifteen years? Several believe that the problem lies at the hands of the doctors
overprescribing the medication. In 2012, doctors prescribed enough pain medication for every
american to have their own bottle of pills, the CDC reports. Whether the doctors are doing this
for monetary reasons (more prescriptions means more money) or just a general lack of
knowledge, the fact that these pills are being handed out like candy is alarming and inexcusable.
These deadly pills are not being regulated as they should be and are too easy to obtain.
Next, we have to consider what the nation is doing as a whole to address this issue. CNN
reports that 80% of prescription pain pills are used in the United States while being only 5 % of
the entire worlds population. Until recently, most states did not have any form of tracking for
these prescriptions. Pill mills, which are doctors offices, clinics, or pharmacies dispense these
narcotics inappropriately for a financial gain. Several states have made significant efforts in
reducing the amount of prescriptions being written. Florida, which had one of the highest rates of
addiction, reduced overdoses by 50 percent by stopping doctors from dispensing the medication
from their offices directly (CDC). New York reduced the amount of patients doctor shopping
through pill mills by 75 percent by creating a drug monitoring program that doctors check
before prescribing the medication (CDC).
Although strides have been made in reducing and regulating prescription pill abuse, it is
still a current epidemic. A lack of awareness and communication throughout the country is
partially to blame. When watching any major news outlet, this problem is rarely addressed.
Comparing it to other epidemics, such as the recent Ebola outbreak or when the swine flu was

present, the coverage of these issues was non-stop. Everyone was aware of these diseases and
what they could do to prevent becoming infected. Therefor, why isn't the prescription pill
epidemic receiving the same coverage as other epidemics ? For one, there is a negative
stigmatization associated with addiction. Because it is not a contagious disease, many believe
that the addicts are choosing to become exposed. But, addiction is a disease that creates a
physical dependency, something that is out of their control. Redefining our concepts of addiction
is a pivotal step in changing the perception of what it means to be an addict. It is a disease that
needs to be treated the same as Ebola or the Swine flu.
News outlets such as CNN, FOX, NBC, and more depend on advertisements to fund their
companies. Without the funding from advertisements, news channels would cease to exist. If
you turn on any news channel and watch the commercials, you will see advertisements from
pharmaceutical companies. America is one of the only countries that advertises prescription
drugs. Many of the advertisements, state something like ask your doctor if this drug is right for
you, and then you go to your doctor, and are handed that prescription. In other counties, you go
to a doctor and tell them your symptoms and they will, being informed on drugs in the market,
make a recommendation for you, rather than you telling them what you think you need.
Medication, in all forms has become a consumer market in America because why else would
companies invest in multi million dollar commercials? It was reported that for high market
medications, companies spend 1 dollar on research and development and 19 dollars on
promotion of the drug (Eichler). These news companies, financially, can not afford to lose the
funding from the advertisements that pharmaceutical companies provide. Therefor, they are
blatantly choosing to ignore the epidemic for financial reasons. If these issues were at the

forefront of news, millions of people would become educated on the dangers of deciding to take
pain medication and a certain portion would decide against using it because the disadvantages
would outweigh the advantages.
Information about the prescription pain pill epidemic needs to become widespread across
the United States. Currently, media outlets are not treating it as the epidemic that it is. It is hard
to know about this issue if you don't have personal experiences with what is happening due to the
lack of information being communicated. If the media decided to cover this issue more
significantly, the level of importance across the public would increase dramatically. The media
needs to take a stand against pharmaceutical companies for the sake of thousands of lives.
By raising awareness of the dangers of starting perception pain medication, we could possibly
see a decrease in the amount of abuse occurring. Doctors also need to start communicating with
their patients more effectively about the drugs that they are prescribing and rely less on the
financial aspect of prescribing the drugs. An epidemic is an epidemic, regardless of what is
negatively associated with addiction.

Citations
"Abuse of Prescription Pain Medications Risks Heroin Use.". National Institute on Drug Abuse,
n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
Berman, Jillian. "How A Big Drug Company Inadvertently Got Americans Hooked On Heroin."
The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.
Eichler, Alexander. "Pharmaceutical Companies Spent 19 Times More On Self-Promotion Than
Basic Research: Report." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 09 Aug. 2012.
Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
Gupta, Dr. Sanjay. "Unintended Consequences: Painkiller Pills to Heroin - CNN.com." CNN.
Cable News Network, 3 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
"Prescription Painkiller Overdoses in the US." CDC Vital Signs. Center for Disease and Control,
Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.